Before Todd
by GeorginaClift
Summary: Pre-TKoNLG after Viola has crashed and Aaron has been finding her in the swamp. Will update.
1. Chapter 1

I don't want him to come again. Him with his shouting and his thoughts, yelling at me straight from his head. I don't know what he wants but he scares me. I run away from him but he follows. Every time. He always follows. I try and hide but he finds me. Even in the loudness of his own thoughts and the animals' thoughts. We didn't know what to expect when we landed here but it wasn't this. Not the constant stream of thoughts screaming right into your face all the time. The animal thoughts can be calming but that mans noise, it's more horrible than anything you've ever seen. So loud. Never stopping.

And there's no one to save me, with my parents gone, there's no one to save me from him and his terrifying thoughts. I thought that we expected everything for when we landed here but this… this constant thinking is just… unfathomable. I wonder what they're thinking up on the ship. Do they know we crashed? Do they know I'm all alone? Are they coming to get me? Are they? I don't know. I don't know anything anymore.

The campfire box Bradley gave me has been a blessing and a curse. On the bright side it keeps me warm and keeps the dark away but it brings in a different kind of darkness. Predators. The bigger, scarier animals that think things like **PREY?** and **FOOD?** And** EAT. **Their noise reveals them before they get to close but I still get scared when I hear them. I switch off the box and I run. I run in any direction. I never know where I run to in the dark, it's all swamp. I always end up going in circles.

The next day- He came again this morning. I was back near the wreckage again. I had gone in a full circle, back to the beginning. Back to where my parents… I pushed the thought away. I needed to hide. I could hear his thoughts getting closer. The stream of words and pictures gets louder. The colours get brighter. I can hear him thinking of **THE PROPHECY** and **THE CHOSEN ONE** what was he talking about? All I know is I was scared. He found me and trapped me against a tree. My heart beat fast in my chest and I was sure I was going to die. The way he was yelling at me I couldn't even hear what he was saying, it was just… noise. And I just stood there until he left and I ran again. I don't know when it will stop. When will I be rescued? Maybe not even by the ship, just by _someone_. There has to be at least one person on this planet who can help. Just one. Anyone.

I dream that night.

I dream of rescue.

I dream of someone coming.

I dream of a hero.

I dream of an adventure.

I dream of hope.

I dream of failure.

I dream of battles.

I dream tragedy.

I dream of waiting.

I wake with a start and try and remember my dream but it slips away from me piece by piece until there is none left. I try and fall asleep to the soft tune of the birds thinking **where's my safety? **And right now, I'm asking the same question too.

The next morning I make a decision. I will not run. I will stand up to him. I will ask him where I am. I WILL NOT be scared. And I hear it again. I hear his thoughts coming towards me and I rise to my feet, but his noise is different today. It's redder. I guess something bad must have happened wherever he's from. It's got a red twinge that you can barley notice but it still manages to let me change my mind. I will run. I will not stand up to him. I will not ask where I am. And I am scared. And that thought crushes me a little.

I am scared.


	2. Chapter 2

One of the moons is full tonight. The wolves are out and howling at the sky. I can hear them in the distance saying **hunt** and **pack. **Its strange how they all stick together, it would be easier to hunt on their own, with less noise but the y still stay in a pack. Side by side. I wonder what that's like… is it harder or easier to trust someone if you can hear their thoughts, know everything they think and feel about you? I wonder how you could ever get on with anyone here. Even if they were nice they were bound to think something bad at least once, you'd have to have something really special to look past that.

My train of thought gets interrupted by the noise of the leaves rustling and **hunt** as the wolves move in closer. I quickly switch off the campfire box. I can't run that would make too much noise; I have no choice but to hide. I curl up in a ball and duck into the nearest set of bushes. The thin, leafy bushes provide little cover but its too late now. The rustle of leaves and the snapping of twigs get closer. **Smell,** I hear, **smell prey, **I try and keep my breathing as quiet as possible but I can feel the pack getting closer and closer. I can hear one coming up behind me. I draw my breath as my heart races. This is it. I feel its breath on the back of my neck and its wet nose sniffing me as it gets closer. It throws back its head, opens its jaws and lets out a howl and it over. I'm going to die I'm going to die. I brace myself but the pain doesn't come. I feel a rush of air as the huge dark shadow of the wolf jumps over me and goes sprinting off with its pack into the night. I hear them barking out **deer** and **deer prey**. I'm alive.

I let out a breath and stare down at my hands. I'm shaking and my breathing is heavy. I feel like I'm going to pass out but I can't. I have to find some shelter for the rest of the night. Those wolves might come back and it looks like it's starting to rain. Eventually I find a small sheltered patch to spend the night. I don't switch my campfire box back on. It does rain and I watch the rain fall. Watch the drops roll down the leaves and land with a splash. I curl up as the freezing cold wind chills me to the bone causing goose bumps to rise up on my sting and my cuts to sting. My injuries haven't gotten any better. My head it the worst. I could go and get the first aid kit from the ship but that would mean going back and that would mean seeing- but I don't think about it. I just shut my eyes and force myself to fall asleep. Fall asleep and see what tomorrow comes.

Will the ship rescue me?

Will anyone rescue me?

Anyone?


End file.
